K&N Pro-Series West Victory for Points Leader Greg Pursely at Portland
- 31 Aug 2012
He won his fourth race of the season and the 13th of his career. The reigning K&N Pro Series West champion held off late charges from Michael Self and Eric Holmes to not only win the NAPA Auto Parts Salute to the Troops 125, but add to his lead in the West Series standings.
"Everybody was running really good laps there at the end," said Pursley, a driver for Gene Price Motorsports. "I just wanted to get some breathing room and run as hard as I could. It worked out well and finally brought one home." Pursley's history at Portland has been mixed. He has finished on the podium a number of times and blew an engine while leading the race last year. "We've finished second a lot," Pursley said. "We've finished third here. We blew up leading, with a huge lead, last year. Just happy to come out of here with a win finally. We just love this place." Michael Self finished second, his fifth top 10 performance in the past six races. He battled a stomach ailment throughout the weekend and the race.
Self has won two K&N Pro Series West races and has seven top five finishes in 12 races this year. The first win of his career came at Brainerd International Raceway in Minnesota during May. He was the highest-finishing driver from the K&N Pro Series West in the race at Iowa Speedway on Aug. 3 and was credited with his second win of the season. "It just shows how much power we have and how far I've come learning and adapting to these cars and this NASCAR style of racing," Self said. "Despite being sick and not feeling real well, I'm still having a lot of fun out there. I'm glad we could get a second out of it. Definitely wanted to get one more position, but a fun race for sure." Eric Holmes, a three-time K&N Pro Series West champion, battled with Pursley for the lead on the last two restarts. But he fell behind Self in the closing laps to finish third and record his sixth top five of the season. "I thought I had something for Greg, the second to last restart was really good," Holmes said. "I got a good jump on him and almost beat him in to turn one. I was hoping to do that on the last one, but he jumped the start a on me and did what he had to do to win that thing. Disappointed with third, but it was a fun race actually."
Derek Thorn was fifth, his eighth top-five finish of the season. The NAPA Auto Parts Salute to the Troops 125 will be televised on Speed on September 6 at noon PDT. The next K&N Pro Series West race is at NAPA Speedway in Sandia, New Mexico, on September 29. Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world. |
